Jeric Flores admitted to shooting a cat with a bow and arrow. Patricia Blevins ran a puppy mill of more than 100 dogs. Tanner Hublar stole a kitten, mutilated it and killed it with a garden tool.

All three were convicted of animal cruelty, but does that mean the public should have access to their personal information?

Their pictures, dates of birth, home addresses, the details of their convictions even driver's license numbers, all would be available right at your fingertips.

No legislator has attempted to establish such an online registry in Kentucky, but momentum is building in several other states, including Tennessee.

State Rep. Janis Sontany, from Tennessee, has been pushing for a pet offender registry for the past five years and was one of the first legislators in the country to propose such a bill in 2008.

“I think it's important that our community knows where these offenders are, similar to the sex offender registry, not only to protect our animals but also to protect our citizens, as well,” Sontany said. “It would require that anyone that's been convicted of a felony animal abuse, animal fighting or bestiality would be on that list. It will be maintained, the name, the address, the felony conviction itself.”

Jessica Reid, with No Kill Louisville, said such online registries would take information animal groups currently keep in unofficial ways and make it official.

“If you're adopting out a cat or a dog, to know that somebody's had a history of abuse is hard to find out right now,” Reid said. “To have an actual registry where we could say, 'This person is dangerous to animals and really shouldn't adopt' would be fantastic for animal welfare groups because you'd have this extra level of checks to know that these animals are safe and in a better home.”

In addition to keeping pets out of the hands of those who have harmed animals before, advocates agree making this information public could deter others from abusing animals in the first place.

“People really love their pets, and if they find out you are an abuser, that will carry a stigma with it,” Reid said.

“I think that someone that would know that they were going to be listed on this, it would be a barrier to being able to get a job,” Sontany said.

For supporters, the bottom line is: A pet offender registry could help protect the public.

“It can only do good if you know somebody is abusing animals,” Reid said.

None of the five bills Sontany filed in Tennessee were signed into law and only one even passed the state Senate.

In fact, nationally, of the more than 60 such bills introduced in state legislatures, just three have passed.

In addition to how difficult it is to get such a registry implemented, the animal advocate community itself isn't completely united behind the idea.

Some advocates not sold on the idea

"It could help animal welfare groups. It would put a stigma on animal abuse. It would raise its profile, which is all very good," said Reid.

"I think it would be one more tool in the toolbox to be able to try to protect our citizens as well as our animals," said Sontany.

But very few of the registries exist, and some animal advocates don't believe they're the best way to fight animal abuse.

According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, 67 bills aimed at establishing such registries have been introduced in 25 states in the past several years.

Just three have been signed into law, all in individual counties in New York State.

One of them is in Suffolk County, NY. It currently has a total of zero registered animal abusers.

Sontany has been leading the legislative push in her state for the past five years.

She said vested interests keep the bills from being passed.

"There are a lot of different attitudes within the general assembly about how important animal abuse is. We have different attitudes between our urban legislators and our rural legislators," said Sontany.

She said rural residents and some powerful groups that represent them have scuttled her bills in Tennessee.

Their chief concern is that animal abuse laws could eventually be applied to farmers and their livestock.

"I think there is fear that if we begin to target people who abuse animals in other ways, that that may eventually open the door to go into this other industry," said Reid.

Reid said the bigger issue may not be opposition, but apathy.

"Animals are on the final rung when it comes to what's important in the legislature," said Reid.

Even the animal advocate community itself isn't fully united behind registries.

WLKY's Steve Tellier contacted the Humane Society of the United States for its position.

The group declined to speak on camera, but its president and CEO has written that while, "This idea springs from the right instinct: to be tough on people involved in cruelty, when someone is convicted and punished for cruelty, does shunning or shaming them forever do any good for any animals?"

He also wrote that, "It is not clear that the current round of proposals to create a patchwork of county-by-county or state-by-state public registry databases would materially advance these goals."

Instead, the Humane Society's focus is on pushing for better reporting of animal cruelty cases, and that efforts, "should focus on upgrading criminal animal cruelty and neglect penalties and encouraging more vigorous application of these laws."

Reid agrees., but still believes a registry would help protect pets and the public.

"If politicians got behind this, they would have a well of support," said Reid.

No legislator has ever introduced a pet offender registry bill in Kentucky, and Rep. Sontany, who has led the fight for such a registry in Tennessee, will soon be retiring from politics.

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